Comments on: Will it damage a lawn mower engine if I start it with no blade installed?

By: Jason B

Jason B — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:04:57 +0000

you need a blade on it to start. the blade is the balance for the engine

By: petoon2510

petoon2510 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:15:46 +0000

yes, it will. The engine is balanced with the blade on it. IF you run without the blade, the engine will (could) vibrate itself to pieces.

By: nuckelbuster

nuckelbuster — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:42:08 +0000

Hmm, no, you probably can’t hurt it. You probably won’t be able to get it running at all. The flywheel on push mowers is just aluminum, they use the blade to provide the inertia to keep the motor spinning on the compression stroke. An engine that is designed to run no-load will have a cast iron flywheel, to provide inertia.

By: httnmrtt

httnmrtt — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:34:51 +0000

You can start it to see if it runs, but don’t run it long without a blade. It may overspeed but I would be more concerned about the crankshaft balance provided by the blade. The blade acts as a harmonic balancer when it is installed.

By: mactruck

mactruck — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:49:43 +0000

You can run it without a blade. What would damage a engine is a blade that is badly off balance.

By: DICK R

DICK R — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:00:18 +0000

when i buld engine i don,t have the blade on. so go ahead and started it up.

By: Joe F

Joe F — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:00:41 +0000

not at all.